Lock devices and key devices are evolving from the traditional pure mechanical locks. These days, various types of electronic key devices can be used to unlock lock devices. For example, wireless communication such as Bluetooth, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), NFC (Near Field Communication), etc. can be used to communicate credentials from the key device to the lock device which can thereby grant or deny access.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,593,249 presents a method for unlocking a lock by a lock device enabled for short-range wireless data communication in compliance with a communication standard. In one embodiment, the method includes: a) detecting a key device within operative range of the lock device; b) determining a wireless communication address of the key device; c) evaluating the determined key device address by reference to a data storage with a number of wireless communication addresses stored therein; d) generating an evaluation result from said evaluating step c), wherein a match between the determined key device address and any of the wireless communication addresses stored in the data storage is a requisite for a positive evaluation result; and e) unlocking said lock if a positive evaluation result is generated in step d). However, defining the operative range is difficult and requires careful optimisation. If the operative range is too large, unlocking can inadvertently occur from the inside. If the operative range is too small, it places unnecessary requirements on the user in terms of where to position the key device for access to be granted.
US 2013/0127591 A1 presents a method, system, and computer program product for secure facilities access. The method may include: receiving an access request from a mobile device to a secure facility; authenticating a user using multifactor biometric authentication with data from the mobile device; obtaining data from one or more fixed sensor devices at a location in the physical vicinity of the secure facility; cross-validating data from the mobile device with data from the one or more fixed sensor devices; and granting access to the secure facility if the authentication of the user and the cross-validation are successful. The cross-validating may determine that the access request from the mobile device is made in the vicinity of the secure facility using data from the one or more fixed sensor devices. However, the presented method is complicated and requires sophisticated sensor devices.